Heroism
by Erispeon
Summary: 'He was pale, frantic, and most definitely not Lana Skye; a second more and Ema instantly recognized the man who killed her parents. Hatred and fear bubbled up inside her as she glared at him. "D-darke."' One night changed the life of the Skye sisters forever. (An SL-9 fic for the SL-9 day)


**A/N: Happy SL-9 day! I figured that in honor of this day I should write a little something. So enjoy this random little oneshot. Thank you very very much to my amazing Beta and friend Dani.  
**

_Click. Click click. Click. Click click_. "Augh!" Ema Skye groaned at the completed math homework beneath her and dropped the pen she had been clicking. She had been waiting for her big sister Lana to come back after Prosecutor Neil Marshall asked for an extra hand in helping with a "quick" suspect transfer that was starting to take quite a bit longer than she had bargained for. With a bored sigh, the young girl pushed away from her sister's desk, kicked off with her feet, and spun around in the swivel chair. She returned the finished work back to her backpack and instead pulled out a brief writing assignment she had for her Advanced Placement English class. Before pencil touched paper, she heard the first rain drop and, by the time she had the appropriate heading, more were heard. "_My older sister Lana is my hero." s_he wrote,_ "Heroism is not defined simply by a cape and a power but by caring for others when you don't have to, by doing the good thing when no one is there to watch. Heroism is putting someone before you and doing things you don't want to for someone you love."_

By the time the opening paragraphs were finished, the simple drizzle had escalated into an all-out storm, complete with lightning and thunder. Where was Lana? Transfers usually only took ten minutes plus another fifteen or so to sign off on the paperwork, a fact Ema committed to memory for the days she would have to help in doing her job as a forensic scientist.

The lights flickered at the thought of her future job. But as it happened so fast, she probably had blinked instead, not paying much attention to it and going back to her line of thoughts:  
Maybe this transfer was a special circumstance! Maybe Lana had secretly gotten an award for being the very best in the whole department but they didn't want to give it to her in front of all the losers. Or maybe Lana and Neil were talking and flirting; Ema noticed that the prosecutor always made her sister smile, and she would gladly put up with some extra waiting if it meant said smile would be around more.

Any further future plans were interrupted by the sound of heavy, fast approaching footsteps signaling the arrival of Lana. Her younger sister hurried to the door and opened it while talking. "Lana! Do culprit transfers always take that long? Or were you just staying to talk with- ah!" Her affectionately teasing words trailed off to a gasp at the face that met her. He was pale, frantic, and most definitely not Lana Skye; a second more and Ema instantly recognized the man who killed her parents. Hatred and fear bubbled up inside her as she glared at him. "D-darke."

His wild eyes briefly surveyed the room before landing on her, and smiling to match the dark grin forming on his face. "I do believe I am a special case as far as suspects go. Few serial killers do escape, after all." His eyes fixed on her before he hurriedly brushed his way into the office and grabbed her arm tightly. "You're that little whore of a detective's sister aren't you? I killed your parents." He paused with a ragged breath before adding, "Ema, yes? You'll do nicely." He yanked her from the doorway and slammed the door shut with his foot. His grip was strong, but so was her resolve to stay where she was, leading to him literally dragging her in the direction of her sister's partner's desk and suit of armor, amidst occasionally disappearing light. "What do you think, Ema?" The way he said her name made her shiver in panic as it was accented by another long flicker of the lights, "one last kill! For the road!" He was crazy, every sound he made an insane yell to be heard above the thunder from outside. "What does one more charge matter? I'm already going to die! She'll come in to find you lying there and me laughing! Hah! So many have been accidents, why not have one on purpose?" She pulled her arm back as the lights flickered, anything to get away from him and flee, anything to save herself. Darke was too determined in his crazy quest, though; his fist hit her head and she stopped pulling away long enough for him to force her closer to the desk.

"Ema!" She didn't know what knocked her away from him, only that she was free and she hit her head on the floor. Her eyes only registered a blur of colors tumbling and focused on Prosecutor Marshall for a second before the lights went out altogether.

Darkness overtook her, but her ears worked almost too well. She could hear grunts and struggles and the occasional yelp or sound of a punch connecting, but with no light it was impossible to tell who was winning. _Smack!_ Who was that? A cry, was it her captor or rescuer? She heard a shuffle and then a groan before a lightning from outside briefly gave her the vision she wanted, and showed her a millisecond of the scene. One man was standing over the other, knife in hand raised ready for the final strike. Her hands and legs moved by themselves, propelling her toward the scene. The numbness of fear faded just long enough for her to feel her hand connecting with fabric and a poised body stumble back.  
The cloudiness in her mind finally hit her, as did the pain. Her eyes grew heavy and closed as if in a trance. _It's okay_, some part of her whispered to her body,_ Stop fighting. You're gonna be okay. Mommy will be there and Daddy will too._ Her ears registered a thud. _You'll get to stay with Mommy and Daddy forever._ A clang in Lana's office. Lana. She had to stay for Lana. _Just close your eyes._ Lana. _Just let your mind go._ A choked scream. _You'll be back soon._ The voice was right. She had to lay down now; scientifically, it was what her body said to do.

_Just let go._ She did. 

"Ema." Her head didn't hurt anymore. "Ema?" She could feel herself coming back, slowly but surely. She could feel her legs again, could wiggle her toes. "Ema!" The voice cut her back to reality, reminding her that her head wasn't too happy about being hit. "Ema, oh thank god!" When she opened her eyes, Ema was met with more darkness and the light of stars outlining a shape she would've known even if she hadn't heard its voice.

"Lana." Her voice was choked and muffled and her sister's name sounded more like a sigh than an actual word, but she didn't care. "What happened?" Prosecutor Marshall was okay, right? He had to be.

Her sister's arms tightened around her and her breath hitched, the latter of which Ema didn't pick up on. "Don't worry about what happened."

"_Lana, what happened!? Did Ema really…?"_

_ "I-I-I. Sh-she couldn't!"_

"_It's going to be okay."_

"_It almost looks as if… I'm afraid there's only one option and I'll need your help. It's not exactly… legal, I'm afraid."_

"_I'll do it. I'll do anything for her."_

"I promise everything will be okay, Ema. I love you so much."

Lana was crying. Lana never cried. With one look, Ema missed her smile already, she had no idea that it would take years for her to see it again. She had no idea what her sister had done for her and it would also take years for her to find out.

Two years later, Ema Skye finished the last of her packing for her move to Europe. It had been a long time since that night but it never stopped coming to her mind. Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth had helped expose the truth about what really happened and Lana was incarcerated. It was almost ironic that her sister imprisoned was the most free she had ever been, but Ema had finally gotten to see the smile she waited so long for.

As she moved her suitcase, her eyes fell on an old paper peeking out of the side of a book. With a sigh, she pulled it out and read the essay she forgot she had written. _"In conclusion, Lana is my hero because she does what's right. She'll fight for the things she believes in and stands against what's wrong. I love her very much, and she loves me, and I need that. Lana will do whatever it takes for what she's passionate for and what she cares about. I know I'm safe as long as I'm with her."_


End file.
